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Yes.

On March 2, 2023 University of Wisconsin System President Jay Rothman announced plans to raise tuition by 5% for the next academic year. 

The proposed increase must be approved by the UW Board of Regents. It would be Wisconsin’s first tuition increase in a decade since it was frozen at the beginning of the 2013-14 school year under then-Gov. Scott Walker. 

In 2021, Republicans who run the Legislature lifted the freeze and gave tuition-setting control back to the board, which has declined to increase tuition the past two years. Rothman said a 5% increase would amount to an estimated $38 million annually. UW-Madison has the highest annual tuition at $9,273.36, not counting student fees, housing or meals. 

Shortly before Rothman’s announcement, Republican lawmakers proposed capping tuition increases at the previous year’s rate of inflation. Gov. Tony Evers’ 2023-25 budget does not specifically factor in a tuition freeze as he did in two prior budget proposals. 

This Fact Brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

The Cap Times: UW System president to propose 5% tuition increase

AP News: Republican lawmakers propose limiting UW tuition increases

UW Help: UW System Tuition Chart

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Erin Gretzinger joined Wisconsin Watch as a reporting intern in May 2022. She is a journalism and French major at UW-Madison and will graduate in spring 2023. Erin previously worked for the Wisconsin State Journal as a reporting intern and served as the 2021-22 editor-in-chief at The Badger Herald. She is a recipient of the Jon Wolman Scholarship, the Sigrid Schultz Scholarship and the Joseph Sicherman Award Fund for her academic and reporting work.